The destination is the most important part of the Journey.
Setting goals has been taught to us from a very young age, yet, remains a very underrated aspect of our lives. In professional careers, especially in sales, we are overwhelmed by daily targets, knowledge acquisition, connecting with people, and finishing our To-do lists. This busyness often limits our focus on setting goals for ourselves or may be setting them right. Don’t worry, we got your back. Here is what we covered that could fasten your goal setting process with information on trends, type of goals and time to accomplish. Bonus is the excerpt from Dominican University’s research paper.
Research results on importance of goal setting and how to achieve them
The Dominican University of California published a paper on the importance of goal setting and the role it plays in a professional’s life. This Yale theory of individuals achieving their goals when written down has been proven over an experimental group. The participants who had clear objectives and goals achieved better positions in the industry when compared to others. It is observed that goal setting subconsciously makes us work towards achieving our goals and discussing them with others creates an individual obligation to fulfil them. For a long and successful journey in the corporate world, goal setting is inevitable.
What type of goals sales people can set in their sales journeys –
An ideal goal-setting process is a healthy combination of short-term and long-term goals in a sales career. Short-term goals create a sense of direction towards long-term goals. First, identify your skills and experience alongside your interests and strengths. Focus on what you want to accomplish in the next few months and years – be it consistent in achieving targets, building your own client portfolio, lead a vertical or business unit, getting certified on additional skills that help work with cross functional teams and so on. Then observe what the market is offering to other sales people and how you can look forward for aligning your skills and experience to your goals.
For example –
i) Those who love building relationships and handling communications with clients, account management and customer relationship management provide promising options. ii) individuals interested in Managerial roles should not only be consistent in achieving their own targets but help the team achieve their targets iii) For leadership roles, ability to drive cross functional teams is a big plus iv) not to mention, it’s ok to opt for transition to other job functions if sales is no longer or is the best fit for you. Identify early and set goals that are realistic.
Insights from a sample of sales people profiles –
We analyzed a sample of sales people profiles on LinkedIn to understand the trend, time taken to climb to the top of the ladder in the sales industry. Across industries like Telecomm, banking, FMCG, IT, multimedia, e-commerce, ed tech, and fintech, the similarities are appealing. Today’s vice presidents and presidents of sales who started their journey as sales representatives or sales executives had to travel the long road of experience, knowledge, and passion for an average of 20 work years in sales (Start-up trends and growth stories are excluded here) while the number of promotions or career moves stood between 5 to 8. Another key observation – majority of them acquired knowledge and expertise in cross functional areas (product, tech, people management, talent and skill development, etc.) along with their successful sales career.
In a field like sales, the value of an employee increases with their expertise in multiple domains. An individual who can lead teams and close deals is considered more valuable to the company than someone who sticks to their job description. The expectations from conventional job roles are changing, greying out the boundaries between departments. There is a constant need to upskill and stay relevant to the market.
Alert on Mid-career crisis –
The definition of success varies from person to person. A successful career carries a minimum criterion to balance out personal, financial, and progressive aspects of the growth graph. It is often observed that sales careers reach a point of stagnation, particularly in middle age, which can create a sense of dissatisfaction and demotivate an individual. A clear goal setting acts as a catalyst and pushes an individual towards their ultimate destination they wish to reach.
So, better late than never, let’s set or reset your goals in 2023 for a no regret future…
